FEC Chair Reports Receiving Letter From White House About Her Dismissal

Federal Election Commissioner Ellen Weintraub testifies before the Committee on House Administration in Washington on Sept. 20, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Ellen Weintraub, chair and commissioner of the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC), said on Thursday that the Trump administration has moved to dismiss her from the agency.

Weintraub stated on the social media platform X that she had received a letter from the White House informing her that she was “hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately.”

The letter, dated Jan. 31, appeared to include President Donald Trump’s signature but did not explain Weintraub’s sudden dismissal.

Weintraub did not confirm whether she would step down, as she suggested that the Trump administration’s move was illegal.

“There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners—this isn’t it. I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon,” she wrote.

The White House has not yet issued a statement regarding the letter, and it remains unclear who will be the next FEC chair and commissioner.

The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Weintraub was first appointed as a commissioner under the Bush administration in 2002. The FEC announced on Dec. 12, 2024, that she had been elected to chair the commission this year.

The FEC is an independent government agency with more than 300 employees that enforces federal campaign finance laws, including monitoring donation prohibitions and public funding for presidential campaigns.

According to the FEC, the U.S. president can appoint commissioners, but they would still require confirmation from the Senate. The agency mandates that no more than three commissioners may represent the same political party and that any official commission action will require at least four votes to take effect, a rule intended to promote nonpartisan decision-making.

Appointed commissioners serve six-year terms, with two seats up for appointment biennially, and a member cannot chair the commission more than once per term.

Trevor Potter, a former chairman and commissioner of the FEC, said the Trump administration’s move to fire an FEC commissioner “violates the law, the separation of powers, and generations of Supreme Court precedent.”

Potter is currently the president of the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization focused on promoting Americans’ freedom to vote.

“Congress explicitly, and intentionally, created the FEC to be an independent, bipartisan federal agency whose commissioners are confirmed by Congress to serve the vital role of protecting the democratic rights of American voters,” Potter said in a statement.

“As the only agency that regulates the president, Congress intentionally did not grant the president the power to fire FEC commissioners.”

The Trump administration continues to implement sweeping executive actions affecting federal agencies and reduce the federal workforce. This includes laying off employees focused on the previous administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Additionally, there have been significant layoffs of contractors.

Gwynne Wilcox, a former member of the National Labor Relations Board, filed a lawsuit against Trump on Feb. 5 over what her attorneys referred to as the “unprecedented and illegal” removal of her from the federal labor board. The Senate had initially confirmed Wilcox to a five-year term due to end in August 2028.

The lawsuit states that the Trump administration’s move to fire Wilcox via a “late-night email” violated the National Labor Relations Act, which allows the U.S. president to remove board members only in cases of “neglect of duty or malfeasance in office” and after providing notice and holding a hearing.

“When Congress established the National Labor Relations Board almost 90 years ago, it made sure that the law would protect its independence from political influence. My removal, without cause or process, directly violates that law,” Wilcox said in a statement.